Author: richardakirk

I am a Canadian artist, illustrator and author. This blog is where I talk about projects that am working on. I show finished works, but I also show works in progress and things that inspire me along the way. Feel free to leave a comment or ask a question. Thanks for dropping by.

I had a few free hours today so I finished my drawing “The Hidden Exhibition.” Ink on 140lb Arches hotpress paper, 12″ x 16.″ The work will be shown for the first time at the Roadside Attractions III show at Copro Gallery (curated by Cris Velasco). Inquiries can be made by contacting the gallery through their website. The show opens May 12. If you’ve been following my work in progress shots on this piece, thanks for checking it out.

This is a second illustration for Caitlin R. Kiernan’s Houses Under the Sea, forthcoming from Centipede Press, and the last that I can show for now. It goes with a story called Houndwife and was also done with carbon pencil.

For over thirty years, Steve Venright has devoted himself to the liberation of the imagination, documenting hallucinatory trips through Southwestern Ontario’s deliriomantic landscapes with his signature puns, portmanteaus, and spoonerisms. The Least You Can Do Is Be Magnificent: Selected & New Writings is a generous gathering of Venright’s most enduring and extraordinary poems, including the revised and expanded “Manta Ray Jack and the Crew of the Spooner”— the most outlandish and hilarious seafaring tale since Lewis Carroll’s The Hunting of the Snark. This volume also features an in-depth examination of Venright’s work by scholar Alessandro Porco.

I am showing you an illustration I did for the forthcoming Houses Under the Seaby Caitlin R. Kiernan (the image is shown as a crop in the link). This is the first time I have illustrated a book using carbon pencil instead of ink. It was an interesting process as the medium took the drawings in a different direction. I will definitely play with this in future projects.

I’m still working on illustrations for my own book, Magpie’s Ladder, which will be published later in the year.

In May, I will have work in a show at Copro Gallery in California. The show is Roadside Attractions III, curated by Cris Velasco.

I thought I’d share some photos from last night’s opening of the latest exhibition by the Shadowood Collective. Unfortunately I didn’t have a chance take as many picture as I would have liked, but these shots should give you an idea of the event. Co-curators Sarah LeGault and Vincent Marcone (My Pet Skeleton) brought together a remarkable group of artists that included printmakers, photographers, painters, graphite artists, animators, doll artists and fashion designers. I have no idea how they coordinated the hanging of the show in less than one day. The event was very well attended despite the cold night, and it was great to connect with other artists and art fans. Also, I got a very cool surprise at the opening, but I’ll save that for a future post!

Here’s a peek at the three miniature prints I am making available for the Shadowood Show mentioned in my previous post. These image are 3.75″ x 3.75,” in a limited run of 25 prints. I signed and numbered them today, and I’m really pleased how they came out. They are giclee prints on heavy stock and fit very tidily into the IKEA Ribba frame. As mentioned, any remaining prints will be sold through my webstore following the show.